Season 3 of Killer Instinct dropped a few weeks ago, opening up its potential player base considerably with the long-awaited PC release alongside the first batch of new content for this year. When the KI reboot was first announced as an Xbox One exclusive over two years ago, the general concern among the fighting game community was that its growth and popularity would be hamstrung by its console exclusivity. That concern coexisted with the fact that KI was going to be releasing with a rather paltry amount of content out of the gate with the intentions of supporting it as a F2P service months or even years after the initial release. There was a lot of uncertainty going into KI's bold vision for the future of fighting game content distribution, and after its original developer (Double Helix) left to pursue other avenues at the end of Season 1, things were looking grim for this reboot of a franchise that had been dormant for over 15 years.
But then Iron Galaxy stepped up to the plate for Season 2, and despite some very valid concerns with regard to their pedigree at the time they ended up delivering in a big way. I can't even imagine what it'd be like to try and pick up development on a game like KI after it had been started and then abandoned by a different group altogether. While Iron Galaxy continued to support the game with a wealth of new content throughout Season 2, the game's diehard community remained relatively small compared to the likes of its more popular fighting game brethren (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat... etc.).
Fast-forward to today and the game is as content-rich and poised for greatness as it has ever been. While the game launched all those years ago with a meager cast of six, it has grown nearly four-fold in the span of time since then. FGC notables such as Maximillian, Alex Jebailey, and others have recently taken on professional roles tied to KI. The yearly KI World Cup thrived as a community event earlier this year, showing how dedicated and passionate the pre-Season 3 community already was. And with the PC release, tons of fans (myself included) would finally be able to enter the fray instead of observing from afar due to lack of an Xbox One.
So what is the point of this thread, anyway? Well, I'd say primarily to highlight how much stuff is packed into KI these days that fans of the genre often bemoan the lack thereof in other more popular franchises. Here are some examples of what I mean:
- Arguably some of the most flawless netcode in the genre
- Some of the best built-in tutorials for new players of any fighting game
- A stage to coincide with nearly every character in the game
- A unique music track for every character in the game
- Best sound design (music and effects) of any fighting game bar none
- Lively backdrops with tons of reactive detail responding to things happening during the fight
- Unique combo mechanics that allow for flashy, custom combos with a relatively low execution barrier
- Plenty of singleplayer modes (Arcade, Story, Shadow Lab... etc.) with a potentially expansive additional mode coming later this season in the form of Shadow Lords.
- Combos are an extension of the neutral game, so you're never stuck on the receiving end of a damaging combo without having options to escape. It's a mindgame unique to KI within the genre.
- Other fun and unique universal mechanics (Shadow Counters, Counter-Breakers... etc.) that add further to the depth of mindgames occurring at a fast pace during a match
- Lots of character-specific traits and mechanics that make every character extremely distinct from one another
- A universal comeback mechanic (Instinct Meter) that gives every character a unique buff without being too rewarding for having simply taken damage
- Fantastic art and animation, albeit sometimes a little inconsistent due to the nature of this game's history across two development teams
If this thread has helped convince even one person to take a chance on KI now that it is more readily available (and free to try with rotating free characters every Wednesday), I'll consider myself happy with it. I couldn't be more pleased with how well it runs on my aging midrange PC (on all max settings, no less), and I'm so hooked on the game right now that all I want is to see the community grow immensely.
For those who have had their curiosity sufficiently piqued, check out this fanmade online Killer Instinct guide to learn more about the game's systems and gameplay.
I'll give it a try when I get the chance! I have a 60Hz monitor as well thankfully 
